Can ExifTool add an EXIF block to an image that has no EXIF data?
Asked 12/8/2021
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2 answers
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I have image files that contain no EXIF metadata at all, not just empty EXIF fields. Can ExifTool create a new EXIF block in those files? If so, what command syntax should I use to add EXIF data to an image with no existing EXIF header?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
4y ago
2 Answers
3
Yes, exiftool can create EXIF blocks in images that don't have them. Just pick any one of the EXIF tags that exiftool can set and assign a value to it. Exiftool will then create the EXIF block in the file. For example, this will set the EXIF:DateTimeOriginal tag and create the EXIF block
exiftool -DateTimeOriginal="2021:12:08 12:00:00" file.jpg
Originally by user37960. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user37960
4y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes. ExifTool can create an EXIF block in a file that currently has no EXIF metadata. You do this by writing any writable EXIF tag; when ExifTool saves that tag, it creates the EXIF structure as needed.
Example:
exiftool -DateTimeOriginal="2021:12:08 12:00:00" file.jpg
This writes the DateTimeOriginal tag and creates the EXIF block if it doesn’t already exist. The same idea applies to other writable EXIF tags as well.
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